Vernon Helps Red Wings Score Another Knockout

The Red Wings lose games at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena these days about as frequently as Louis himself used to lose in the ring when he was heavyweight champ.

Behind goalie Mike Vernon, the Red Wings shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0, Saturday night to give Detroit 11 victories in a row on its home ice and 24 of its last 26.

Vernon had 25 saves to end Tampa Bay’s five-game winning streak.

New York 4, Florida 0--Brian Leetch scored on the first shot of the game at Miami, and had two of three first-period goals.

Then it was up to Ranger goalie Glenn Healy, who responded with his second shutout of the season in the meeting between the top two clubs in the Atlantic Division.

Leetch scored 25 seconds into the first period. It was the fastest goal ever scored against Florida, surpassing the previous mark of 36 seconds by the Washington Capitals’ Calle Johansson on Feb. 26, 1994.

Montreal 7, Pittsburgh 3--The Penguins’ winless streak at Montreal was stretched to 12 games despite two goals from Jaromir Jagr, giving him a league-leading 52.

Martin Rucinski and Mark Recchi had two goals apiece for the Canadiens, who defeated Pittsburgh for the fourth time in five meetings this season. Montreal is 10-0-2 at home against the Penguins since October 1988.

Dallas 3, Toronto 2--The Stars won a rare game at Maple Leaf Gardens. They had been 0-8-1 at Toronto since 1993.

The loss was the Maple Leafs’ fifth in a row, but their slump actually extends over the past six weeks, a period in which they have gone 3-13-3.

Boston 2, Calgary 1--Former Flame Tim Sweeney, who had scored only once in his first 13 games with his new team, scored a goal for the third consecutive game to provide the margin of victory for the Bruins at Calgary.

New Jersey 2, Washington 1--Brian Rolston had a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils scored all their goals in the opening five minutes at Landover, Md., and then hung on to end the Capitals’ five-game home winning streak.

Overall, Washington has not been so successful, losing three in a row and four of five.